About 400 young candidates of various registered political parties on Monday converged in Abuja for a three-day international conference aimed at empowering them to win votes and make positive impacts ahead of the 2019 General Elections.
The event tagged “The Convergence: Power, Capacity, Politics” is organised by the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA Africa), the Not Too Young To Run movement, and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (UKAID).
Speaking at the openings of the conference, the convener of the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ movement, Mr. Samson Itodo, said the conference is a unique platform for young candidates to build their competence, network, share experiences and advocate for greater representation and credible 2019 elections.
According to him, the event is the largest gathering of youth candidates who are running for elective offices in the 2019 general election and that the young people have defied all odds to obtain candidature of their parties, hence the importance of bringing them together.
“The Convergence promises to inspire and empower them with the kind of skill sets they need to navigate this hostile political environment in Nigeria,” Itodo said.
He said different speakers including young lawmakers from countries in Africa, leaders with inspiring stories, development partners, academics and civil societies would be speaking during the event.
Also, the YIAGA-Africa Programs Manager, Cynthia Mbamalu, said the event was not organised because it was fashionable to converge but that the meeting was converged because the youths and organizers decided that Nigeria must work.
“We must remember that winning elections is a hard and tedious job. But we must never forget that we have people who have fought against the storm or oppressive political party system and won,” she said.
A member of the House of Representatives, Tony Nwulu, who sponsored the ‘Not Too Young Run Bill’, said that one of the issues dominating national discourse recently is the need for a generational power shift to youth in Nigeria in 2019 and beyond.
“Nigerian youth in the vanguard of this campaign believe they have been short changed in the past. With the strength that God has given us, we will bring the desired change,” Nwulu said.
On her part, the head of DFID in Nigeria, Dabbie Palmer, bemoaned the misrepresentation of youths in Nigerian political space.
She told the candidate not only to think about getting elected but to have a solid plan for the country, whether elected or not as they can still contest again and win.
“If you don’t win this time you will run again. This is a learning process for you, you learn your craft. If you not successful, become a volunteer and join advocacy campaigns. I hope for some of you, this will become a profession for you. And you have to remember that women, children and disabled people matter,” Palmer said.
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